


As the Blue Spirit Howls

by Thisisentertaining



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Animal Abuse, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I don't know what I'm doing anymore either, If its a werewolf is it child abuse or animal abuse?, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Modern AU, Ozai's A+ Parenting, Werewolf AU, Witness Protection, animal adoption, reference to animal abuse, werewolf!zuko, yup
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:40:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28636404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thisisentertaining/pseuds/Thisisentertaining
Summary: Zuko was not a good shifter.Azula could switch between her wolf and human skins between steps. Not Zuko, he needed several minutes before he even started the shift, and that was on a good day. If it had been Azula who Animal Control found in that alley, they would have walked away convinced that their eyes had played a trick on them. There had never been a dog there.But Zuko's long transformation would have only revealed his kind to the world. Father may think he has no honor, but he wouldn't stoop so low as that. Even if that meant being dumped in animal shelter, trapped as much by the 24/7 security cameras as by the cage bars.He had the worst luck.-"Come on guys!" Aang said as he lead his friends through the clamoring barks of the shelter. "I want to show you my favorite dog! He's a sweetheart."Aang lead the pair to where a monstrous beast of a dog was growling with raspy barks loud enough to drown out the rest of the shelter. His bright white teeth contrasted against golden eyes and a bright red scar that stretched over the side of his face as he lunged against the cage door.Sokka laughed nervously. "Did the word 'sweetheart' change meaning when I wasn't looking?"
Relationships: Gen - Relationship, The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar), Zuko & Friendship
Comments: 156
Kudos: 573





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So... I have no excuse except that the plot bunnies wouldn't leave. 
> 
> Trigger Warning: Reference to Animal Abuse and Child Abuse (Both against Zuko)

“Come on guys, I want to show you my favorite dog! He’s a real sweetheart.” Aang said excitedly, voice raised to be heard over the loud barking that filled the air. Katara and Sokka followed behind, Katara looking around and coo-ing at the animals as Sokka frantically took ‘artistic’ pictures and boomerangs to post to his Instagram. The eldest of their group was proud to boast a couple hundred thousand followers. He had deleted comments, and his friends hadn’t had the heart to tell him that 99.9% of those followers thought that it was a parody site making fun of ‘artsy’ Instagram accounts. The .1% was the two of them.

“I think it’s great that you’re doing this Aang, this seems like the perfect place for you.”

The younger boy grinned with a blush as he accepted the praise. “Thanks! I just really wanted a place where I could help out!”

“And play with cute animals.” Sokka said with a snort.

“That helped.” Aang admitted, dragging them along to one of the back corners of the shelter, the section with less cute puppies wagging their tails and squirming, and more hardened looking dogs who watched them warily with low rumbling growls or furious barking. He of course, lead them to a cage where the dog was doing both.

It was a huge beast, a husky mix likely, though it was hard to tell. It looked like the dog had been shaved bare recently, though inexplicitly it’s fluffy black tail hadn’t been touched. The light smatterings of bristly fur that was starting to grow in on the rest of him did nothing to cover the smattering of scars that littered a body just this side of starvation. It certainly didn’t hide the huge burn that stretched fully across one side of the dog’s face. It covered his squinting gold eye completely, touched a bit of his snout then wrapped around his head to completely mangle one formerly-pointed ear.

The dog’s face was a mess of color, from the pink skin, the black fur trying valiantly to grow in, gold eyes, bright red burn, and the bold white teeth that were stark against his lips as the dog maintained a constant warning growl. The growl only got louder as they neared, until it morphed into the loudest, most grating barks that the sibling had ever heard. Still, Aang continued forward as the monstrous dog started snapping, pacing, and lunging against the kennel wall.

Huge black-padded paws sent the kennel doors bulging as the dog snarled and threatened, his raspy barks drowning out the others in the shelter. Huge teeth snapped, and only the bars of the cage separated them from the children’s faces as the dog stood on long legs. Its tail lay inert between its legs, moving with the furious lunges of his body but not in any way that even remotely hinted at a ‘wag’.

“Uh, did the meaning of the word ‘sweetheart’ change when I wasn’t looking?” Sokka asked as Aang moved towards the cage latch. Aang simply grinned at him and slipped into the kennel.

“Wait!” Cried Katara frantically, obviously not expecting the boy to actually go in. She looked around in panic for a staff member who could stop her friend from being mauled by the beast.

However, the dog had backed away from the door as Aang opened it, and while his growls and ear-splitting barks did not cease, he was no longer lunging but pacing back and forth along the back of the kennel. Aang sat crossed legged on the cage floor and scooted forward until the dog had no more room to pace and it lay down with a huff. The growls and barks continued, but it did nothing more as Aang started freely petting its short, bristly fur. “His name is Blue Spirit, or Spirit for short. They found him in the alley behind the Blue Spirt bar. We’re pretty sure he was abused.”

“Duh.” Sokka muttered, but Katara jabbed at him with her elbow.

Aang continued, seeming to barely notice the interruption. “They even sent some officers to the bar, but no one would confess to recognizing him or his owner. I know he looks pretty scary, but he’s actually really sweet.”

The dog snarled, and let out a sharp bark, as if protesting the characterization. Aang immediately cooed and scratched his back harder. “Yeah, youse a sweetheart, yes youse are.”

The dog growled again, but didn’t so much as snap. Instead, he seemed to be leaning into Aang’s touch more and more. Katara cocked her head before moving to go into the cage as well.

“Wait!” Sokka protested. “He was psycho like 2 seconds ago, I don’t think this is a good- no of course you don’t listen to me. Why would you listen to me?”

The girl slipped into the cage and shut it carefully behind her. The dog eyed her warily, but didn’t even bother to growl at her like he had with Aang. Instead, it huffed out an irritated sound and looked away.

“See!” Aang beamed as she hesitantly knelt beside him. Katara offered her hand for him to sniff, which the dog did exactly twice before looking away with another huff. “He can tell if you’re nervous and isn’t so loud. He’s actually loudest once he starts to trust you. It’s kinda cute.”

The dog jumped to its feet, barking loudly into Aang’s face as though in protest. Sokka let out a bark of laughter and finally entered the, now cramped, cage as well. “Don’t worry boy, you aren’t cute. You’re big, tough, and scawwy, right buddy?”

Blue Spirit growled at Sokka, making him yelp, but the older teen didn’t move from his spot in the cage. With a calculating glance at his friend and sister, Sokka pat the dog on the head twice, as which point Spirit seemed to realize that no one was really intimidated by him anymore and turned to attack one of the rawhides in the cage. The dog brandished the toy at them when he tore off a chunk as though to prove that his teeth were powerful and to be feared. The group simply cooed at him and resumed petting.

* * *

Zuko huffed and dropped the rawhide, collapsing with his head on his paws. This kind of stuff never happened to Azula.

“You should see him when little kids come in.” Aang continued babbling.

Of course, Azula was a much, much better shifter than him. A prodigy. Just thinking the words left a bad taste in his mouth. That may have been the disgusting dog food he’d been forced to consume for the past month.

“They don’t usually come back this far, but if they do then he doesn’t do anything. Just lays down calmly in the back like a good boy, no barking, no growling.”

Zuko was _not_ a good shifter. He just didn’t have good control over his shift.

“And I _swear_ he glares the ones that _do_ scare the kids into submission. I saw a toddler pull his tail once and he didn’t even flinch.”

That wasn’t to say that he shifted unexpectedly like the movies portrayed it. That wasn’t the issue, that had never been his issue. His problem had always been the opposite. He was great at _maintaining_ the shift, both as human and wolf, but transitioning between the two? That was harder.

“That’s really sweet.” The girl replied.

He growled again in rote protest against Aang’s favorite descriptor for him, but the new boy had just found _that_ spot behind his good ear and he was too busy pressing into that hand to argue any more.

The shift that took his family seconds would take him several minutes of intense concentration. The more emotional he was, the longer it took. It had been taking a lot of time lately.

“Okay, fine, he’s growing on me.” The strange boy said, obligingly digging into that spot even harder. The girl was running her hands over his back, and Aang was carefully looking at his paws in a way Zuko knew was an actual vet’s trick. He wondered idly if that was what the boy was interested in doing. Volunteering in a shelter would be a good move if he was.

If Azula had been woken up in that alley by animal control (Azula would never have fallen asleep in an alley. He wasn’t sure what she _would_ have done if she’d been kicked out and disowned and was half-starved and homeless, but it wouldn’t have involved sleeping in a dirty alley after licking disgusting drying beer off the ground in attempt to get any moisture into her parched body) she would have just shifted, yelled and threatened, and they would have walked away embarrassed that they had mistaken a girl for an animal, convinced it was a trick of their minds.

“I knew he would.” Aang said proudly. When had his tail started wagging? Why couldn’t either of his forms be good at lying? “Just don’t get too close to his face, especially the part with the…”

But not Zuko. By the time he had the been able to fight through the exhaustion, hunger, and blurriness from his reluctant drink to even _start_ the process of shifting, they had already forced him into a cage in the fan and were slipping that stupid hoop-stick thing off of him so that they could close the door. He’d been so distracted on trying to shift that he hadn’t fought properly to escape.

A stupid mistake.

One of many.

“I can’t believe someone could do that.” Katara said softly. “Especially to a dog as sweet as this.”

He hadn’t been a dog at the time. He’d taken the form of a loyal son. That had been another mistake. He once thought it was a mistake he could fix. He’d given that up the night in the alley. Now he could only hope that this mistake wouldn’t be as permanent.

“Well, that’s the thing… you see-“

“Aang, we cannot get a dog.” The girl protested and Zuko blinked. They were getting a dog? Oh, right. “You know what Officer Fong would say about pets.”

Zuko’s brows furrowed. Fong… he knew that name. That was one of the officers who placed people into witness protection. More specifically, he was the officer who had organized the concealment of a witness known by the codename Avatar. The witness who supposedly held the key to ruining Father’s entire livelihood.

“We have Appa! And Momo!”

The witness who Zuko had been relentlessly hunting since the day that Father disowned him.

“We have Appa because he’s a licensed, therapist prescribed therapy dog to help your trauma and keep you from accidentally karate chopping people.” The boy said bluntly. “We have Momo because you can sneak him around in your pocket when they move us.”

The witness whose capture was supposed to ensure that Zuko could return to his home, to his family.

“It’s not karate, its-“

The witness who he had given up searching for when yet another dead end left him with an empty stomach, and a tiredness that allowed him to finally give up on the insane dream that Father still cared for him at all.

“Aang, if I have to listen to your list of martial arts that you’re magically good at one more time, I’m going to fall asleep on the dog.”

Zuko would have growled at that, but his mind was moving to quickly, his heart feeling like it was exploding in his chest. It couldn’t be. Avatar was supposed to be a hardened gangster, or a skilled hacker, or shrewd fixer, or… not a kid. He wasn’t supposed to be some _kid_.

Aang pouted. “We aren’t supposed to have social media either, Sokka.”

Maybe it wasn’t. Fong had to have several cases, right? (Never mind that Avatar was supposed to have two companions, not eyewitnesses but people he had told everything. Codenames Boomerang and Bender)

“I can’t disappoint my fans Aang. Besides, no one knows it’s me. There are no faces, no names, no comments, I don’t even tag our locations.”

Zuko had to know. Fong was good. It was hard to get any information on Avatar, but Zuko was able to get a few tidbits here and there. The pertinent one: he was supposed to have tattoos. Supposedly he had blue arrows on his head and hands.

The girl sighed loudly. “Not this argument again.”

He had hair covering any head tattoos, and Zuko didn’t see anything on his hands, but he had to be sure.

“Great, then we can go onto a new argument. So, Appa is great but he’s more _my_ dog than anything because I have to take him like, everywhere. You guys deserve a pet too and Spirit is- uh. Spirit?”

Zuko had risen to a sitting position and met Aang’s eyes before leaning over and very deliberately licking a large swath down the boy’s wrist. His tongue came away covered in a bitter tasting powder that sat thick and heavy.

“Did you guys see that?” Aang asked, voice raspy in awe. “He’s never done that before, with anyone. It’s a sign!”

“Awww.”

“Aang. That does not change anything.”

“But Katara-“

They were arguing, but the words were rushing around Zuko, lost in the blood rushing in his ears as he stared at the small wrist, and the pointed tip of a tattoo that he had revealed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I'm going to write something fluffy!! Big Dog Zukko making friends!!   
> Me in reality: Introspection, plot, discussion of animal abuse and child abuse. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter, I'm glad so many people are enjoying my super weird idea!

Zuko’s ears (well, his good ear) fell back against his skull and he couldn’t help letting out a little whine. Immediately he told himself to get a hold of himself, and straightened, but the roaring emotions within him sent his ear back again. For several moments, he was deaf to the world around him, as his ear flicked back and forth from upright and proud to cowering back against his head.

This… this wasn’t fair. He’d spent months looking for Avatar, going without sleep or meals, getting into fights with gangsters, running from the police, spending every cent he could earn or steal to pay for bribes or information.

He’d run himself into the ground, relaxed long held morals, given everything he had and it had amounted to nothing. Less than nothing, it had amounted to him being homeless, nearly starved, fresh from a beating, half drunk because the only liquid he could find were some puddles of beer outside a sketchy bar. It had been the lowest point in his life, certainly low enough to realize that his father would never accept him back after he’d fallen so far.

More importantly, he’d been low enough to indulge in the self-pity he tried so hard to deny himself, allowed himself to think the traitorous thought that he had only fallen so far because his father had pushed him off a cliff. With one eye blindfolded. Fathers shouldn’t do that, but his had without hesitation. Then, he’d forced himself to admit even further that in his ‘Zuko Alone’ period, he had started to doubt that he even wanted to go back.

He had been told that Avatar was being paid some rival to FireNation Inc., someone who had gone to the police with convincing lies on their lips that would paint their company as one with their hands firmly entrenched in dozens of criminal pies. He’d been told that the witness would lay false claim to seeing FireNation Inc involved in everything from drug trafficking to weaponizing criminal groups. Zuko’s search had brought him among the worst of mankind, individuals who made him nauseous to speak to and sick to work with.

They had all spoken his father’s name with familiarity.

Zuko never wanted to see them again, wished they were behind bars, and Father _worked_ with them. If he were ever to actually become the owner of the company as he was training to do, he would be expected to work with them as well.

He didn’t want that.

So, on that night in the alley, hitting rock bottom at his lowest point, he’d reasoned that giving up on his quest, giving up on proving himself to his father, couldn’t make him go any lower. So he had.

And now, _now_ here he was, Avatar cross legged in front of him, _right there_ , right after Zuko had given up.

What does that mean? Was the universe rewarding him for forsaking his family? Giving him what he wanted in return for his new mindset? After all, the Avatar before him didn’t match up to Zuko’s constant imaginings. It was hard to picture this child as anyone’s go-to for planting false evidence. Based on what Zuko knew now, it was likely that the boy had truly seen every shred of evidence that Ozai denied.

Or was it saying that he shouldn’t give up? That he had a real chance to go back to his old life and should fight for it? After kicking him down for his entire life, was the universe finally allowing him to catch a break.

Because if Zuko could prove himself to Father, maybe he could make a difference. If he gave Father the Avatar, he would have to realize that Zuko was worthy of the family business. That he wasn’t the screw up that his latest report card claimed. If he had Ozai’s trust, his ear, then he could convince his father that they didn’t need to be doing any of these shady dealings, that FireNation was strong enough to stand on its own, legitimately.

All it would take was betraying the kind of kid who sat next to supposedly abused dogs for hours until they let him touch them.

Zuko whined again, ears laid back. It was much harder to hide his emotions in this form, though he wasn’t necessarily good at it in either. The girl, Aang had called her Katara, gently shushed him and scratched along his back in an attempt to comfort him. The motion cleared his mind a bit.

No, he couldn’t think about that. The important thing was, this was Zuko’s chance to prove himself to his father, to get back to his family and make a difference. He would have to be carful though, not rush things as he had in the past. While he had known nothing of the Avatar’s identity, he had been too sloppy (or too desperate) for the same to be true of him. He knew Fong knew what his human form looked like, and knew that Zuko was seeking them.

He had to think of a way to get Aang into a position that his capture would be assured, but he couldn’t risk getting discovered in the meantime. It was good that he knew Avatar’s identity, but he couldn’t let him slip through his fingers again. He had to be smart about this. He had to-

Suddenly, Aang’s arms were wrapped around his neck. He yelped and snapped at the unexpected contact, but the boy simply continued his… embrace?

His hold.

“Please!” The boy was begging his companions. “Director Kuei said that he would fast track the foster application!”

The girl looked skeptical. “Aang, we just said-“

“But this is different!” The boy interrupted. This would be _fostering_ Blue Spirit, not adopting him.”

“And the difference is…” Sokka asked.

“He’s still up for adoption! We would keep him at our house, but his picture and information would still be on the site! That way the cage is available for new dogs, but we can bring him back to meet anyone who sees his picture and is interested in adopting him!”

Neither of the other children said anything, but they glanced awkwardly at Zuko. The werewolf felt his lips curling up in a snarl. He knew what they were thinking, he’d seen himself in the reflective silver bowls that the shelter used. The horrendous scar that covered half of his face would have been hardship enough for a dog seeking a forever home. It was puckered and ugly red, a blighted spot where no fur would grow. One of his eyes was permanently squinting and one ear was shriveled and clearly useless. It was huge and impossible to ignore.

Beyond that however, the Shift was as magical as it was physical, fueled by concentration, focus, self-actualization and self-worth. The more control on had of themselves and their emotions, the more effective the shift. It was why his sister had been so skilled, and why his had taken longer and longer ever since the disappearance of his mother. Shaving his hair in all but his Phoenix Plume had not merely been a physical change for Zuko, it symbolled his dishonor, his father’s disapproval. It, as much as the scar, marked him as a failure. It had become so tied to his identity that it had transferred to his lupine form, only starting to grow back when he’d given up in the alley a few weeks back and accepted his lot.

Or maybe it was just because he hadn’t been able to shave since he had been placed into the shelter.

Regardless, the fact of the matter was, when he’d entered the shelter his fur had looked like it had been completely shorn other than an obnoxiously fluffy tail, which apparently represented his plume. The bareness revealed and highlighted the smattering of scars that covered his body (accidents, “accidents” courtesy of Azula, beatings from his time on the streets, and prior results of failing his father) in addition to the unseemly skin that covered every canine. Some may prefer hairless breeds, but that was when they were cute lap dogs. In a creature as damaged and intimidating as Zuko’s wolf form…

That website would be waiting a long time before anyone called for him.

“Aang…” The girl began, voice dripping with careful gentleness. The boy hunched, holding his head between his shoulders and Zuko found himself licking the boy’s suddenly closer cheek in an expression of comfort.

What.

He needed to get out of the form. His canine impulse control was becoming crap.

He refused to even think of a single possibility in which that action was caused by anything other than some unfortunate canine instinct.

Aang jerked at the touch, but it had pulled him from his funk and he laughed, scratching at Zuko’s belly. “I know what you’re going to say, Katara, but most of the fur will grow back! The face scar won’t look nearly as bad once the rest of it has grown in. Just think of what a handsome boy he’s gonna be.” Aang cooed the last bit in baby talk.

Zuko wanted to retract his lick.

No, not his lick. The wolf form’s lick. He refused to admit any part to it.

“He just needs a good place to stay for a while for that to happen! And we can train him not to be so growly and loud, and to react better around new people and dogs!”

“If he’s bad with other dogs this isn’t going to work.” Sokka said, back to scratching at the good-ear-spot. “Appa, remember? And those teeth are pretty fierce. I’m pretty sure Momo isn’t going to be anything more than an exotic snack.”

“Well, he hasn’t exactly been bad around other dogs, not yet at least! They sometimes act weird around him, but Appa is really well trained!”

“I don’t know, Aang…” The girl continued to protest. Aang sent the pair wide, pleading eyes.

“Pleassseee? He’s a good dog, he really really is! But the shelter knows that no one is going to adopt him in this state and there aren’t any other fosters who would be able to take him in! All we have to do is take care of him, train him to be better behaved, take photos for the website and bring him to adoption events! If Zuko finds us again and we have to move, we can bring him back here, but at least then he’ll have a better chance.”

Zuko jerked at the mention of his name, hating the way it sprang from Aang’s lips as if he was talking about some kind of boogeyman or monster who would pop up and say ‘boo’. He was the villain in Aang’s story. It was a sobering thought, one he didn’t necessarily like.

But it didn’t _matter,_ he forced himself to remember. Of course Aang thought he was a bad guy, the teen had set himself against Zuko’s father. It didn’t mean anything more than how rival sports teams felt about each other. Yes, the stakes were much higher, but it didn’t mean that Zuko was a bad person for being against Aang.

It didn’t.

Zuko whined again, ears once more flat against his skull and suddenly, it was all too much. The caressing hands suddenly felt like they were _everywhere_. His skin felt like it was crawling with discomfort, with fear, with guilt that he tried to convince himself wasn’t deserved. He rose to his feet, shaking until all of the hands, with their free comfort and freer trust, finally left. He resumed pacing in the little area that the cage allowed as the three teens looked at him with concern.

Katara frowned. “I think he’s getting antsy.”

Aang perked. “Maybe we can take him for a walk while we talk! I bet you’d like that, huh boy?”

“I guess that’d be okay.” The girl allowed, and the other boy’s face scrunched into thought.

“I mean, that makes sense. If we do foster him, we have to be able to take him for walks and stuff.”

Aang shot that boy a victorious grin, one that meant he knew that he was taking home a foster dog.

Fresh air sounded _amazing_ , so Zuko didn’t so much as twitch as they fitted a collar and leash around his neck, practically pulling a yelping Sokka out of the kennel. He was considered a ‘flight risk’ so they were very careful about who they let walk him. Which was reasonable. He was huge, and every step away from starvation was a step towards renewing his strength. The kennel had security cameras close enough to his cage that he couldn’t simply shift and unlock it, and the exercise yard was constantly monitored while in use and covered in tall fencing that would be hard for even him to jump. The dog walking trails behind the shelter were his best bet at escaping from this place.

Consequently, he hasn’t been walked by anyone other than the blockhead wrestler whose anger-management coach insisted he do community service. Zuko knew the issue intimately, as ‘the Boulder’ was fond of ranting about it during their walks.

While speaking in third person.

And referring to himself only as his stage name.

Needless to say, Zuko was not the hugest fan of walk time.

Director Kuei himself was in the lobby when Aang attempted to walk through, his huge New Foundland Bosco panting lazily at his side as always. He frowned at the young boy. “Aang, what are you doing with Blue Spirit?”

“Well, you said that I was too young to walk him, but Sokka is two years older than me, so I thought he could do it! Look at how good he’s behaving.”

Bosco sniffed a little to closely at Zuko and the werewolf snarled at him, making the other dog whine and back behind his owner’s legs. “Quite… though I’m not sure that’s enough. I spoke with the Boulder the other day, and he said that even he is having a good deal of difficulty keeping Spirit in check.”

“Woah hey!” Sokka yelled. “Don’t underestimate me!” He held up his bicep, which was… decent, for his age but was no where near the size of the Boulder’s. “See that? It’s all muscle?”

The man adjusted his glasses and hummed uncertainly, turning to the general manager for his opinion. Fong made the majority of the decisions at the shelter, financially and staff wise. Kuei was content with owning and bankrolling the shelter and taking care of the animals.

Fong looked down his nose at the group of children, consideringly. “It would not reflect well on the shelter if we were to lose a dog prior to it’s adoption. There are no problems in Ba Sing Se humane society.”

Aang leaned forward. “But you said that you were thinking about letting me foster him so that he wouldn’t… how are we going to foster him if we can’t even walk him?”

Fong looked like he sucked in a sour lemon, but by this point they were starting to garner the attention of the others in the lobby, who were looking at the raggedy-looking dog at the end of the leash and the young adults clearly trying to walk him. Likely to save face more than because he actually agreed, Fong acquiesced. “Use multiple leashes. He shouldn’t be able to pull all of you.”

Aang brightened. “Thanks!”

Additional leashes were clipped to the cheap plastic collar, much to Zuko’s annoyance. They weren’t expecting a dog with human intelligence though. Zuko was pretty certain that he would be able to escape. He should easily be able to get far away from…

…wait.

Why would he escape? This was _perfect_.

The dog’s tail started slowly waving as they walked out of the shelter doors. If Aang really wanted to adopt him, then it would be perfect. He could stay with the boy, learn his patterns and his ways, earn his trust. He could do this the right way, with forethought and planning rather than desperation and fury. He could actually do it this time, bring Aang to his father and make him proud.

He just had to be patient for a bit, be a dog. His father would be ashamed to see the shift used in this way, but maybe he would overlook it so long as it achieved his goals. Zuko’s restored position would be well worth the humiliation coming his way.

So, now he just had to… be a good dog. How hard could it be?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Note: I recently realized that MuffinLance made a joke on Tumblr a while back about how telepathic wolves were going to pop up and save the day. I cannot find that thread but wanted to give her a shout-out because that almost definitely subconsciously brought this fic to life lol.

“He’s actually being a pretty good dog.” Katara said as Zuko paused to sniff on a bush right outside the door. Her leash was lightly looped around her wrist, as was Aang’s. The other boy had a death grip on the ugly nylon.

“Maybe hold that judgement after we’ve been walking him more than five seconds, sis.”

The girl scowled at her brother. “You know what I mean! When we say him going crazy in there, I didn’t think he would ever calm down. Especially not this quickly.”

“He’s really a good boy!” Aang said. “Once he calms down at least. He’s just kinda... spirited at first, but look how happy he is to be outside! Now he’s all wags, no growls.”

Zuko flicked an ear and took a longer sniff at the bush. As the first plant directly outside the shelter, it was covered in… messages from other dogs. Fairly typical. Mostly healthy, some fear or aggression but not much. It was a pretty good shelter. You know, assuming you were actually a dog. He wasn’t enjoying his time.

The good thing was, he now had plenty of examples of 'good-dog' behavior to copy. He thought back on what made a 'good dog' that would convince them to take him home. First of all, he couldn’t _actually_ escape. Not pulling on the leash at all would be suspicious (not to mention a test of self-restraint that Zuko knew he could never pass) but he had to make sure not to pull so far that he was actually at risk of escaping.

Second, he had to put away any lingering pride he’d managed to retain. Dogs were… silly. Foolish. They played games and begged for attention and touch and made messes. He hadn’t acted like that since he was a child with his mother. If he’d even done it then. He doubted it though, Father would have disapproved.

He eyed one of the other dogs as they were bundled into the car of a little girl with large, poofy pigtails. The English Bull Terrier pup wiggled happily in her lap as he went on to his forever home, licking the giggling child’s face. Zuko sighed impatiently as the children holding onto his multiple leashes continued to talk instead of actually _walk_ him anywhere. He couldn't act like that. This was going to be _impossible_.

A new car pulled up as the girl with the bull terrier left. This one was fancy, new, and streamlined. It was the kind of money that almost never darkened the halls of a shelter. Despite himself, Zuko watched with interest, curious at who it was. When the door opened and a familiar scent wafted out, he felt a growl start rumbling at the base of his throat, going steady at the sight of the familiar girl exiting the luxury car.

The teen’s behind him stopped their chatter, Aang kneeling beside him hesitantly and running a soothing hand down his back. “Hey bud, you okay?” He pet Zuko with steady, careful strokes that would have calmed any actual dog quickly, but the beast’s steady growl didn’t falter. “It’s okay boy, you’re okay. You’re okay. Guys do you-“

“What are you doing with Snarly?” A young, feminine voice demanded.

Aang looked up, seeing a short unfamiliar girl in green overalls and a matching headband standing over them. Despite being several inches shorter than the rest of them, she seemed to tower as she crossed her arms and scowled.

“Snarly? Do you mean Blue Spirit?”

The girl scoffed. “That’s a stupid name. Naming a dog after a _bar_? Can you say ‘lacking imagination’?”

Behind Zuko, Sokka hummed. “Snarly _does_ kinda fit him better.” The boy mused, ruffling the top of his head. The dog snapped at the hand. Nowhere close, but enough that the teen jerked his hand back.

Well. Being a good dog was going great.

“Exactly.” The girl said with a grin as she reached out and pet his head just as Sokka had. The boy made a noise in warning, but for her Zuko simply turned to that his unscarred side was by her searching fingers. “That’s why he’s my favorite. I can always tell where he is.”

The Avatar and his friends shared a confused glance at that comment before realizing as one that the girl hadn’t looked at them once through the whole conversation. Filmy-white eyes stared over their heads as the girl tucked the previously-unnoticed cane under her arm and knelt to pet Zuko with both hands. “Don’t tell him though.” The girl continued with a wicked grin. “Don’t want him getting a big head.”

Zuko barked in protest, never once halting his continuous rumbling growl.

Aang perked. “Does that mean you’re here to adopt him?”

The girl, Zuko had never gotten her name, frowned with a heavy sign. “No. My parents won’t let me. They’re worried that getting another dog would distract Badger-Mole.”

“Right, right.” Sokka said, “And that is a…”

“He’s my seeing eye dog. And it’s stupid because tons of people with guide dogs have pets too. I even asked the trainers, and they said it’s perfectly fine. He’s trained to work with distractions. But no.” She drug out the word sarcastically. “My parents know better than the professionals.”

“That stinks.” Katara said genuinely.

“Yeah. But whatever. Apparently, he was adopted anyway. Sorry I yelled at you, I know they said that it would be hard to find him an owner so I overreacted. Probably not a great way to convince people to keep a dog.”

“Probably not.” The Avatar laughed. “But it’s okay. We aren’t adopting him though, just fostering so that he can be in a home until someone does come to adopt.”

“We are _talking_ about foster- you know what, I give up.” The eldest boy sighed. “I know we’re getting the dog.” 

The girl scrunched her nose before eventually shrugging. “Fine, as long as he’s out of Long Feng’s grubby hands. That dude gives me the creeps.”

Zuko barked in soft agreement as the other kids laughed.

“Name’s Toph.” The girl introduced herself, sticking a hand out nowhere near the other three.

Katara moved to take and shake the hand. “My name is Sapphire.” She lied. Zuko’s ears perked, recognizing that the name was very different from the one that the others had used for her earlier. If he was to complete his mission, learning their false names could only help.

“Wang,” Sokka added with a useless wave. Zuko committed the false name to memory. 

Aang jumped to his feet to shake her hand. “I’m Kuzon. It’s great to meet you. We’re going to take Spirit-“

“Snarly.”

“For a walk if you want to come with.”

The girl’s head cocked to the side, as though listening to something. After a moment, she simply shrugged. “Why not?”

From behind them, a loud clearing of the throat sounded from the front of the car, where a driver glared at them from behind a window. Toph sighed explosively. “Give me a second, I have to go check in before my busy body parents call the shelter.”

She stomped her way into the building, cane swinging wildly as she grumbled.

The group watched her, Aang’s hands still running down Zuko’s back as the growling petered out. “Awww,” Aang cooed. “Such a good boy.”

“That’s really impressive though.” Katara cut in. “He realized that she was blind and made sure that she could hear him. He must be really smart.”

Sokka made a disagreeing noise. “He probably just realized that she was happy when he was growling, gave him extra treats or pats or whatever and accidentally trained him to growl. Dogs can be taught to do _anything_ these days.”

Zuko was offended. As he wasn't an actual dog, he wasn’t sure he should be.

“It’s still smart.” Katara argued with the passion of a sibling arguing against another. “He’s only been here a week or so and already trained himself to do that? That’s really smart for a dog.”

“Hey, I’m just saying. He’s a dog, he was trained to do a trick. Congratulations, you and Pavlov can compare notes.”

Aang glanced between the pair nervously. “Calm down, we don’t-“

Katara wasn’t listening. Zuko was just hoping that she wouldn’t have the same resources _his_ sister had when angry to sit on. “You are such a-“

“Fight! Fight! Fight Fight! “ Toph chanted as she made her way to the group. She had a leash coiled in her hands, and when Zuko started growling again she managed to find his collar and attach it with little fumbling.

The other teens scrambled to explain their argument, but Zuko was getting tired of waiting. With a loud bark, the wolf started towards one of the walking trails, dragging Sokka, who had somehow wrapped the leash around his wrist enough that his was significantly shorter than the others. The boy yelped.

“Well, guess we’re going.”

“Sorry buddy.” Aang laughed. Zuko flicked an ear towards him but otherwise ignored the apology. He stuck to the cement path running through an open field rather than the wooded paths that called to his wolf blood. It _wasn’t_ because that would be easiest for Toph. Really. He’d barely even noticed that. Really. He just thought that if the path was easier they would talk more and he would get more information out of them.

Really.

That was it.

“So, if you can’t get another dog, why are you at the shelter?” Sokka asked the stranger.

“Volunteering.” The girl answered, “Duh. I’m homeschooled and I was going absolutely insane sitting at home every day. I was sneaking out but,” She shrugged. “I knew eventually that they would realize that those pillows under my blankets weren’t breathing. I threatened to run away for real if they didn’t find a way to let me out of the house sometimes, and so.” She shrugged. “A compromise. For now.”

“That’s cool.” Aang said sunnily. “This is a great shelter, I come here every Tuesday and Thursday to volunteer too! I’m kinda surprised that we hadn’t seen each other before, but I’m usually here a lot earlier.”

That was good information. Wait. Was it though? If Zuko revealed himself or ‘ran away’, he probably wouldn’t come back. But it did mean it was a time that he was alone and out of their house fairly consistently. If Zuko could arrange for someone to go after him at the right time…

He _really_ wished he had anyone he could trust to do that without taking the glory for themselves and leaving him out to dry.

Okay, so that wouldn’t work. But it still would be a good thing to know. This wasn’t going well. He wasn’t getting any good information on his actual targets and- rabbit!

Zuko stood stock still, nostrils flaring as he followed them to see a fluffy furry brown ball chewing at a clump of clover in the corner of the path. He ceased the low rumbling he’s been admitting since Toph joined, going stock still as he crouched into a predatory stance. Ear’s up, head close to the ground, feet carefully placed, Zuko slowly stalked forward towards the entirely unaware prey creature.

A predatory wolf’s blood was running through his veins, begging for the chase and hunt that he had been denied for the weeks he’d spent in a form born in it. He licked his chops, ignoring the babbling distractions behind him as the predator centered on prey.

“Hey!” Aang suddenly yelled behind him with a laugh. “Run Bunny, Run!”

Startled, the rabbit took off. With a growl, Zuko lunged after it, jumping forward on strong, muscular legs. There were a myriad of cried behind him as the group was sent sprawling by the force of his leap, but as the shelter administer had said, he couldn’t exactly drag four people across the yard. Well, he _could_. He was strong enough. He just wouldn’t be fast enough to catch the rabbit so what was the point?

He stopped after a few steps and whined as the rabbit disappeared into the woods.

Toph, miraculously the only one to keep her footing, laughed uproariously. “Why did you think it was a good idea to make the rabbit _run_ , idiot?”

“Oops.” Aang mumbled from his place on the ground.

Sokka spit out a mouthful of grass. “Well. Are you ready to sign some papers? This seems like a great idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some side notes that didn't make it into the story: 
> 
> The girl with the pigtails is actually the girl from the Fortunteller episode who liked Aang. She got a English Bull Terrier because it's the dog with the biggest forehead in my opinion cause their face is unique. 
> 
> Toph used to sneak to the wrestling rink and met the Boulder there. He was the one who told her about the shelter. Her parents have not yet gotten her to confess to where exactly she had been sneaking out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all!! Thank you for sticking with this super weird story! I hope you enjoy this next chapter!!

“Wait,” Katara said as they neared the shelter doors. “We should make sure he get’s along with Appa first.”

Zuko sat as they paused, pointedly looking away. He’d been surviving off of disgustingly cheap donated dog food for weeks. Even his wolf side didn’t like it. That had been his first shot at _real_ food in what felt like forever and they had ruined it. He was furious.

No, he wasn’t _sulking_. He was too dignified to sulk. 

“Oh, good point!” Aang said brightly, pivoting from the doors to a fenced in yard to the side. It was a larger yard for the dogs that didn’t react poorly to being around other dogs, allowing them to run around and exercise without a volunteer walking them directly. A smattering of potential future-dog owners were in the yard, petting and playing with the pups.

“Who’s Appa?” Toph asked, her face scrunching softly as they moved off of the sidewalk and onto the gravel, her expression smoothing again when they made it to the grass.

“He’s my dog!” Aang said happily. “He’s the best! A big sweetheart. And he’s a service dog too*! Not a seeing eye dog, but still really well trained. He’s not in his vest right now though so you can pet him.”

Toph opened her mouth, as though to ask what Aang needed a service dog for, but the boy forged on, likely practiced at avoiding the question. “Anyway, Spirit hasn’t been super dog aggressive. He growled at Bosco earlier, and sometimes if other dogs bark too loud he’ll get an attitude, but he isn’t like some dogs who will lunge at or go after other dogs. Well, you know, more so than he is with everyone.”

By the time the boy finished his explanation, they were at the gate of the fence. He whistled, and a dog immediately broke off from a pack that was tussling together. It was a huge white and brown furred beast of a dog, toung out and leaking drool as he happily panted. An orange bandana on his neck proclaimed the words ‘Not Available for Adoption’, one of the many such dogs of the pen. Zuko narrowed his eyes at the stranger. The Saint Bernard’s scent was familiar, Aang was practically drenched with it.

And with drool.

Appa ambled over to the group, waiting patiently as Aang slid the gate open and coming directly to his owner’s side. Zuko was vaguely aware of Sokka advising the two girls to hold on to his leashed and step back for the introduction. He wasn’t paying much attention though, instead eyeing up his opponent. They were fairly close in height, well at Aang’s chest, but Zuko’s shaved fur made him look much smaller compared to the other dog’s floof. Something about the way that the other dog held himself belied strength, confidence. He seemed solid**.

Zuko was still pretty sure he could take him.

He didn’t _want_ to hurt him of course. But he was _not_ going to be bottom of the totem pole. Being dog and having to act like a mindless animal was going to be bad enough, but he refused to defer to an _actual_ dog. If this ‘Appa’ didn’t yield, he was prepared to establish dominance (it hadn’t ever worked for him in the past, but this wasn’t his sister, or his father.)

…he really didn’t want to hurt a kid’s service dog.

Especially not a _therapist prescribed_ service dog. That meant he had PTSD or something, and Zuko shuddered to think what a kid this young and happy had gone through to qualify. _Maybe something related to what landed him in witness protection_ , a traitorous bit of his mind suggested, and Zuko violently shook his head to force the thought out. He couldn’t think like that.

Appa let out a soft noise as Zuko shook his head, not quite a bark. It sounded more like a low moan, and it brough Zuko back into the game. Right. He had something else to focus on. It didn’t matter _why_ Appa was here, Zuko refused to submit to him. He would fight tooth and nail to-

The Saint Bernard bumped their noses together and let out a low ‘boof’ before sitting down beside Aang, evidently no longer seeing Zuko as a threat. Zuko relaxed as well, sitting to show his acceptance. Equals. Probably the best outcome that could have happened.

Aang grinned as the dogs sat and largely ignored each other. “They’re going to be best friends.”

Sokka let out a bark of laugher as Katara lead Toph closer so that she could pet Appa. Reminded suddenly of the presence of the blind girl, Zuko resumed the low rumble that he’d halted during the standoff. He kept careful eye on Appa as he did so, but the other dog seemed to recognize that the noise wasn’t meant to be aggressive.

“Well, let’s just hope he doesn’t like to eat small rodents.” Sokka snarked.

“Why?” Toph asked. “Is your home so gross that you’re attached to the pests? Well, animal pests.” She amended, elbowing Sokka as the other teen came up to make sure their new (temporary) dog didn’t get left out considering the girls were more concerned with Appa.

Aang laughed in reply, seeming to miss the dig completely. “No rats. I have a sugar glider back at home though. His name is Momo and he is the cutest thing ever. He likes to land on my shoulder and I just walk around the house with him attached to me!”

She let out a semi-interested noise, but otherwise seemed to largely dismiss the statement. “I don’t like pets that I can’t tell I’m about to squich.”

Sokka hummed. “That’s fair.”

Aang perked up however. “Don’t worry, he loves new people! If you give him some fruit, he’ll stay on your shoulder the whole time you’re there and you don’t have to worry about it!”

The girl was quiet for a moment, her usual brass and assertive personality falling away for a moment of awkward uncertainty. “You would want me to come over?”

“Sure!” Katara said brightly. “Do you have a… um… phone?”

The girl snorted, her earlier personality restored, but a bit happier. “No, sweetness, being blind prevents me from hearing voices through technology. It’s a real struggle.”

Katara groaned. “Just give me your phone.” She commanded and Toph cackled as she handed it over.

“I can text too, using text to speech. Just put your company as ‘Snarly’ for me, will ya?”

“Sure.”

Zuko rose, sniffing towards the phone in attempt to see the number she was entering. He didn’t trust any hackers enough yet for it to be of use, but it had to come in useful somehow someday. However, the more he tried to get close to the phone, the more Katara lifted it away from his head. Zuko wanted to growl. No one wanted dogs to get too close to something valuable and fragile like phones.

He had not foreseen this problem.

He huffed and sat back down. A flash of irritation hit him, but he forced it back before it manifested into a growl. Instead he focused a moment on relishing in the smell of the grass and the feel of the sun hitting his fur and overly-sensitive skin. He hadn’t gotten the chance to enjoy it much recently, either stuck in the loud, bare rooms of the shelter or working out his restlessness with the Boulder power-walking behind.

Finally, after several moments of fiddling around with phones, Katara started herding them back into the shelter to fill out the paperwork. Long Feng glowered at them when they entered, but since Kuei was still in the corner, arranging the new owner pamphlets for the millionth time, he said nothing as he slapped the paper’s onto the counter. “I’m afraid one of your… friends will have to complete the paperwork. According to your volunteer application, you are underage. I’m afraid we will need to conduct the full new foster interview and-”

“Oh no, its okay!” Aang protested. “I’m a legal adult, I was emancipated.” He pulled a folded certificate out of his wallet along with his license, handing both over to the sour-looking man.

Zuko’s ear’s perked. This was his second chance. He jumped up so his paws were on the counter, pretending to sniff at the ceramic jar holding treats while his eyes sought out the license and certificate. It made sense that they would emancipate a 16 year old who apparently went into Witness Protection without his family. Or at least emancipate his cover. Wait, did that mean he was emancipated or wasn’t?

Zuko eyed the license, trying to catch the address and license number. The name ‘Kuzon Gyatso’ was emblazoned on the front of the card, a smiling picture of Aang adorning it. The rest of the writing was in smaller font and he squinted to read it.

“Ah ah, no!” A voice said from behind as a pair of arms snaked around behind his armpits, pulling him back away from the desk.

Wat.

Zuko blinked owlishly, utterly thrown to have been _lifted away_ like some kind of rag doll.

Does not compute.

“No, no jumping on the table.” Sokka's voice said WAY TOO close to his ear. 

Zuko finally brought himself to awareness just as Aang tucked the documents away once more.

This… was going to be harder than he thought. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * So, to clarify, in the first chapter, Sokka calls Appa a 'therapy dog', he is actually a trained PTSD dog prescribed to Aang after the offscreen events that landed him in witness protection (which will be revealed later). I just didn't think that he would throw out the phrase PTSD in the middle of a casual conversation.
> 
> Unlike therapy dogs or emotional support animals, PTSD dogs are considered service animals and are highly trained to do a lot of cool things. They can sniff out if their owner is headed to a panic attack, 'distract' from flashbacks, lead them away from stressful situations, keep them from hurting themselves or others, and a lot of other essential tasks. I'm not a professional, just a person with google, but I have been super interested in PTSD dogs ever since Chef Jet Tila did a cooking competition to raise money for a service that trains shelter dogs to be PTSD service animals. They are real cool. For more information, check out this link: https://usserviceanimals.org/blog/ptsd-service-dog-tasks/
> 
> ** One of the cool things PTSD dogs are trained to do is to always watch their owners backs and make them feel comfortable knowing someone on their side is keeping lookout. To represent that, Appa walks confidently and self-assuredly to give Aang more comfort. Some of the dogs can be trained to check a perimiter or check out new houses or rooms before the owner enters. Again, I just find them super cool. 
> 
> If you want an image of what I pictured for the last scene, imagine this with more confusion and less floof: https://static.inspiremore.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/11155933/floof.jpg

**Author's Note:**

> I just had this sudden, really stark image of an abused dog Zuko barking up a storm at a hapily cooing Aang while Katara and Sokka looked on with concern and horror. Then I had to try to find a way to make a plot that even remotely made that make sense. This was the result. Please let me know if you are interested in the story and in reading more! I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also, please do not take anything about witness protection as fact. I tried to research if they could have pets, and it says they have to leave behind family pets that would be identifiable, but I couldn't get information on if they could get new pets while in the system. 
> 
> The Instinctual Verse is my priority at the moment, but this may be a fun "I want to write fluffy stuff" side story, so there will not be as frequent updates for this, but I'm intending for this to be mostly fluffy, Zuko being puppy adopted by a loving Gaang, with some background plot.


End file.
